02: Sometimes
by cali-chan
Summary: Years after the Jinchuu arc, Megumi and her son receive a letter from a friend asking them to go to America. What... let me rephrase that... who... will they find there?
1. Part 00 - Trailing Behind Footsteps

Errmmm... hi everyone? This is my first RK fanfic posted here on ff.net... it's about Sano (my all-time favorite), and mostly Megumi, so be prepared... not yet, though, this is just the prologue ^^ Attention: English is not my native language, so if there's any errors of mistakes, please tell me. Also, I never finished watching the anime, and I've only read translations of the Jinchuu arc, I tried to make it as accurate as possible, but I can be wrong -.-;; Please, R&R!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes   
by Carla Pinilla.

Prologue - Trailing behind footsteps.

Megumi looked at the toddler, and smiled. "Didn't I tell you not to run off with those kids, Odoroki?"

"But-but- I wanted to go and play with them!"

"Oh, no doubt you did, but you know, you can't always do what you want. These are the consequences!"

"Conse-what?"

"Consequences. It's like this: when you do something, it causes something to happen. And this is what happens when you run out of the house without my permission!" she said, starting to tend her son's skinned knee.

Her son...

It had *really* been a surprise when she saw the little baby on her doorstep, someone had abandoned him there. Ha! And she thought that only happened in stories! The baby was sick, so she took care of him. No one ever claimed to be a relative of the child. She grew fond on him, so she just adopted him. And they lived happily up until now.

He had really brightened her life, and she felt really at peace now that she had a son. A kid to call her own... she had always wanted that. And she would never leave him like his family did. Or like HER family did to HER, for that matter.

"Kaa-chan?" the kid asked her. "If I go outside tomorrow, will I get hurt again?"

"No, sweetie, you can go as long as you ask me, okay?"

"Okay!" the kid ran to his room, and Megumi smiled. He had run off again.

There was a knock at the door, and she went to open it. Standing there was one of her neighbors.

"Takani-san, this letter came for you this morning," said the guy, handing her a letter.

"Thanks a lot, Masaru," said Megumi, and when the guy left, she closed the door.

She sat in a chair, opened the letter and started reading it. It was from Hiro, a young man who used to be her assistant sometime ago. He left one day, because he said he wanted to be known all over the world. Megumi helped him, and now they kept in contact. He told her about everything that happened in there, in America.

"Tuberculosis epidemic?" she murmured, reading the first parragraphs of the letter. She continued reading until she reached the last few lines.

_*Please, Megumi, we need you here. You have to come. We need your help. Please. Sincerely, Hiro.*_   
  
"Please, come?" Megumi said. "Like, me in America? Well, I had never thought about that before." She read the letter again. "But then, if the situation is as dangerous as it sounds..." she turned around. "Odoroki, come here for a second!"

The boy came in running, and exclaimed, with a too-innocent-to-be-true face: "I didn't do nothing!"

Megumi glanced curiously at him, but shrugged it off, as she had more important matters at hand. "Odo-chan, what would you say if I told you that we're going to America?"

A cute glimmer started to form in the eyes of the kid. "America? Sugoi!"

Megumi smiled. "I figured you'd say that."   


One week later, both of them were disembarking in the America.

"Megumi! Odo-kun! I'm here!" exclaimed Hiro from... somewhere in the middle of a mob of people.

"I saw him! I saw him! He's over there, kaa-chan!"   
  
"Ah, Hiro! There you are!" exclaimed Megumi when she got to him.

"Milady," said Hiro, bowing and kissing her hand, very much like he used to do when he was working with her.

"Oh, Hiro, stop it with the mock curtsies, ok?"

"If you so wish. Come, I'll take you to my house, where you'll be staying."

"Yatta! We're in America!" exclaimed Odo-kun, and latched onto Hiro's leg.   


All in all, Hiro's house was the biggest and most beautiful mansion Megumi had ever seen in her entire life.

"How did you get this... fortress in such a little time?"

"One of my patients, Shinuzaku-san, gave it to me after I saved his life. Said I would need it more than him. So, now this is like a hospital."

"Great. I've always wanted to work in a real hospital."

"Kaa-chan?" asked Odoroki.

"Yes, Odo-chan?"

"This house is BIG."

"I know that, dear."

"Hey, big boy, want me to give you a tour?" offered Hiro.

"Sugoi!"

So, Hiro showed them the whole mansion, in and out, up and down. Odoroki was jumping up and down and Megumi had to restrain him or he would break something. Hiro just laughed.

It was then when they got to a hallway full of rooms.

"This is where I tend my patients," said Hiro, "but, maybe it's not the best moment to show it to you, Megumi, with Odoroki here and all."

"But I wanna see EVERYTHING!" exclaimed Odoroki.

"Now, Odo-chan, if Hiro says we can't see it now, then we can't. He'll show us later."

"But Okaa-chan..."

"No buts, Odoroki," said Megumi sternly.

"Don't worry, Odo-kun, we'll take a stroll through town, instead," said Hiro.

"Yatta!" exclaimed Odo-kun, and once again latched himself onto Hiro's leg.

"So much energy, Odo-kun!" laughed Hiro, walking out the door with Odoroki beside him.

"You are pampering him too much," said Megumi, but followed them anyway.   


*Big Japanese community,* Megumi thought. *It makes me feel like I'm home.* The townspeople were very friendly and lived happily, Megumi noted. Everyone laughed and there was music everywhere. There were lots of stands of food, too. *Must be some sort of festival.* She made a mental note to ask Hiro about it when she saw him.

Hiro had taken Odo-kun somewhere to eat. When he offered to buy some rice cakes from a stand, Odoroki replied indignated that he didn't want to eat in a stand, but in a 'restaurant' -with a French accent and all! Megumi just laughed and told them she'd be looking at some stuff she wanted to buy.

And now, here she was, and she had bought too many things. But, even then, those flowered slippers were so cute, and looked so comfortable, that she just had to b-

"A doctor! Please, I need help!"

"Someone call Hiro-san!"

She immediately ran where the screams were heard.

"No, don't call that guy."

"But, he's the only doctor around. We need him, Sa-"

"Excuse me, what's the problem?" said Megumi, rushing between a mob of people, and kneeling beside a fainted woman.

"She started coughing blood, and then she just fainted, miss," said the man who was on the other side of the woman, who was obviously the woman's husband.

"Ok, just let me-"

"Just who are you, anyway?" asked a man from behind her, not too politely.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's no time for presentations. I have to help this woman," she said sharply.

"You shouldn't be here. This woman is in a too delicate condition to be aided by someone less than a professional. You're just disturbing everyone here," replied the man.

Now, that was Megumi's cue to stand up and face that jerk. "Professional? Like who? You?" She regarded him in anger. He was tall, with brown eyes, a brown beard and, she guessed, brown hair. He was dressed in black pants and a black long-sleeved red-trimmed jacket with no shirt under. He wore a pretty weird black hat, also. (It would've looked Indiana Jones-esque had they lived in the 90's!)

"No, woman, I meant a doctor."

"Then why didn't you call Hiro... -san in the first place, eh?"

"Feh. That guy's a fake. He doesn't know a thing about medicine."

Megumi blinked. Sure, Hiro's methods were a little unorthodox, but he still was a good doctor...

"Well, for your information, SIR, *I* am a DOCTOR."

"Yeah, sure, there are no lady-doctors around here, ok? I betcha you're just one of those snobbish women of high society who think they can fix any problem with their husband's money, and then make themselves a pretty good image in front of everyone."

*SLAP!!*

"You are such a barbarian!" exclaimed Megumi.

The man looked down at her, surprised, taking one of his hands to his now red cheek. He stared at her, as if reflecting something for a moment, with a sort of sad look on his face. But then his gaze turned angry, and he practically penetrated her with his eyes.

"Only one woman," he said forcefully, trough clenched teeth, "only one woman has had the right to slap me... and she certainly wasn't anything like you." The man turned around.

"Well, you should know better than to insult the person who can save your friend's life," murmured Megumi back. The man started to walk out of the group of people, when the husband of the woman called out:

"Please, we have to save Reiko. So I beg you, don't start an argument with the lady-doctor, Sagara-san."

Megumi's heart stopped in her chest. *S-sagara?* "Sagara? S-sanosuke Sagara?"

It was then, when she saw the man's retreating back, that she saw the kanji that was sewn on the back of his jacket.

'Aku'.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Li'l notes:

1. Odoroki means 'surprise', am I right?   
2. Once again, please, pleasepleaseplease, R&R!! *big hopeful puppy face* ^^   
  



	2. Part 01 - Just to bring it back

Ok, second part... the action kinda begins ^.~ Once again attention: English is not my native language, so if there's any errors of mistakes, please tell me. Also, I never finished watching the anime, and I've only read translations of the Jinchuu arc, I tried to make it as accurate as possible, but I can be wrong -.-;; Please, R&R!

Sometimes   
by Carla Pinilla.

Part 1 - Just to bring it back.

"And then... well, I guess he... errrr... beat the bad guy and lived happily ever after?"

"Kaa-chan, I know you can be more imi- imageni- ime- well, you can think of something better!"

Megumi stroked her son's hair. "I'm sorry, Odo-kun, I guess I'm not in the mood for stories tonight."

"Awww... Kaa-chan..."

"I guess he drew his katana, and in one swift movement, defeated three of his adversaries. Then he turned around and faced the boss, and had a rough battle with him, but won at the end. After that, he went to rescue his girlfriend, and she thanked him with a big kiss," said Hiro, just entering the room.

"Gross!" Odoroki made a face. "That shouldn't happen!"

"Yeah, I know, Odo-kun," said Hiro with a smile, and then he made a dramatic gesture, just for effect, "but, you know, life's like that."

"Ok, Hiro-san!" Odoroki exclaimed, and happily laid down and closed his eyes.

Hiro and Megumi went out of the room, careful not to wake Odo-kun up. Hiro closed the door behind him.

"Thanks for the save in there, Hiro."

"Oh, it was nothing. You know I just love that kid."

"Yes. I know."

"So, tell me, what's bothering you?"

Megumi put on a nervous smile. "Nothing's bothering me. What makes you think that?"

"Come on, Megumi, I know you. You've been very quiet all evening. Is it about Reiko, the woman you helped?"

Megumi looked at him. She knew he just wanted to help her. "Ok. Um... do you know anyone called Sagara Sanosuke?"

Hiro's face, which at first had been contemplative, darkened. "That man is a jerk. You shouldn't even think about him," he said, and, uncharacteristically, turned around and started walking away. "You should get some rest, Megumi," he said, before going to his room.

And Megumi stood there, thinking. *I wonder what could have happened between them, so that they dislike each other so...*

Then, a woman came running up to her. "Megumi-sensei?"

Megumi turned around. Hiro had told her this woman was the mother of one of his patients, who were staying in the 'improvised-hospital' section of the house. "Yes?"

"Can you come with me, please? I need to turn down my son's fever, but I can't find Hiro-sensei anywhere."

"Of course. Just guide me to him."

The next morning...   
  
The man opened the door. "Oh, konnichiwa, Megumi-sensei."

"Konnichiwa, Kakeru-san. How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you. Have you come to check on Reiko? She's in the back if you wish to see her."

"I didn't actually come to see her," Megumi started, "but I'd like to know how she is doing."

"Well, she has been resting quietly, as you told her. I get it that she's been feeling better."

"Had she had any strong coughing fits?"

"Yes, but not as hard as she used to have. Thank you for your concern, Megumi-sensei."

"Oh, it's nothing, Kakeru-san."

"Oh, believe me, it is, Megumi-sensei. Now, if you didn't come here to see my wife, then how may I help you?"

"Um... ok. You know, when I was tending to your wife yesterday, a man came up to us, and he was rather... rude, if that's the word, to me. You said his name was Sagara, right?"

"Oh, yes, Sagara-san. He is a very fine young man, although a little impulsive at times," the man smiled amused at her, with a weird gleam in his eyes. "Most of the young girls in town are infatuated with him."

"Yes, but is he Sagara, as in Sanosuke Sagara?" Megumi felt kind of weird by asking that question. *Well, of COURSE it has to be Sanosuke Sagara, you baka. The last of the original Sagaras was the Captain, and he's dead. And it's scientifically proved that Sanosuke CAN'T have a 20-something years old son!*

"Why, yes, that's his name," Kakeru-san answered.

"Duh! Of course it is..." she murmured, sighing inwardly at her stupid question.

"Oh? Did you say something, Megumi-san?"

"Oh, no! Heh, it's nothing. Um... well, you see, I need to talk to him, so I need to know where to locate him."

If anything, the question seemed to make the man's smile even bigger. "Well, he lives in an apartment on the other side of the community, but I don't think you'll be able to find him there."

"Then, where will I be able to find him?" she asked, wishing the man would just get to the point.

"Oh, I'd bet he is in 'the house of the corner,' gambling with his friends."

*Figures,* she thought. *Why didn't I think of that before? I guess some things just never change.*

"...Only a few blocks from here," the man continued.

Megumi almost didn't let him finish. She muttered a quick 'thank you' and turned around, heading for 'the house of the corner.'

Kakeru-san watched her, smiling at her reaction. *She is also quite smitten by him. She is such a young girl, to be a doctor. But she's quite the lady. I wonder if they had met before. She seemed to know him,* and with that, he turned around and went back to tending to his sick wife.   


"Yeah! I won!" he exclaimed, happily. "What do you say about THAT, you buttheads?! HAH! I thought you'd say I'd NEVER win? Well, check this out!"

Everyone sweatdropped. Sure, they HAD teased him about the bad luck he'd been having all week, but it wasn't THAT bad...

"Sano," said a small guy, actually the owner of the residence. "There's someone looking for you."

"Who is it, Satoru?" Sano asked, turning to the man. "Everyone knows better than to look for me while I'm here."

"It's a woman," Satoru started, "and one hell of a woman, if you catch my drift", he said, making 'curve' gestures with his hands.

Sano frowned. He knew that most of the community's young women (and some of the mature ones too, mind you) were drooling over him, but none of them had ever come to see him while he was gambling. Surely, if it was one of them, Satoru would have recognized her. So who could she be?

"I think you shouldn't keep her waiting, man," Satoru said, with a sly smile on his face. "She must be desperate to talk to you, if she came here."

So, Sano got up and headed towards the door, to find out who this mysterious woman was.   


The moment Megumi heard the door opening again, she looked up. Her mind quickly registered the change from the owner of the house, who was quite small, to the man who was coming through the door at the time, who was quite tall.

Sanosuke Sagara.

Sano turned to close the door, and then turned back to look at the visitor.

"Oh, you're that woman from yesterday," he said, looking kind of guilty. "Look, I'm sorry I was so rude yesterday. I'm not usually like that, it's just that I was under a lot of stress. I'm really sorry."

Megumi didn't even hear what he was saying. She was thinking about how much, and yet how little he had changed. He still dressed in the same way... today's clothes were the same model as the day before, only they were white with red trimmings. And the hat was gone. She smiled inwardly, he still wore the bandanna, and his hair was still spiky. Same old chicken-head.

When Sano saw her smiling, he realized she wasn't paying attention to him. "Hey, lady... I just said I'm sorry. Did you hear me?"

"You don't recognize me, do you?"

"Huh?" that question took him by surprise. He had never seen this woman before..

"Oh, come on, Sano... I would have thought you'd be more observant."

Now THAT was weird. He had surely met her somewhere, or so it seemed. But where?

"But of course, being the stupid chicken-head you are, it was to be expected."

Sano frowned indignantly. No one had ever called him chicken-head since Tokyo... "Hey!"

"So, tell me, how's your right hand doing? You know, since I wasn't around to reprimand you when you injured it over and over again..."

That's when it clicked. Lady doctor, right hand, stupid chicken-head...

"Megumi? That you?"

"Well, took you THAT long to figure it out!" she said, grinning.

He also grinned like a maniac. "Geez, Fox, it's been a long time!" he said, came up to her and hugged her.

"You haven't changed a thing!" she exclaimed, hugging him back.

What they DIDN'T know at that moment, was that they were surrounded by a crowd of gawking men, jealous women and curious neighbors.

"Whoa, I didn't know Sano could come up with a girl like... like THAT," said one of the men.

"Who is she, anyways?" asked a girl beside him.

"I think she's Hiro-san's friend, the lady doctor," said one of the elder men.

"The one with the child?" said the girl again.

"Yeah, that one."

"I see you still gamble, and it's pretty obvious you've been drinking sake," Megumi said. "Still your same vicious self, eh?"

"Oh, you know me, Fox. So, what have you been doing these five years?"

"I've been working in Aizu. Although I'll tell you, I kinda missed the Tokyo days. Aizu was too quiet, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So, I hear you've had a really great time travelling. How did you get here?"

"Well, I was in Mongolia for a few months. After that, Katsu sent me a letter telling me that he had a friend in here who could help me, and I knew I was safe from the police as long as I was here. The travelling was good, but I wanted to settle down."

"I never thought I'd hear those words coming out of your mouth. Sanosuke Sagara, settling down? The world must be ending."

"Ok, ok, quit it. I'm not a walking joke, you know?"

"Well, you look like one. What's with the beard?"

"Hey!" he said. "Actually, I haven't had the time to shave lately. Why, you don't like it?"

"I think you looked better without it."

"Oh my, the Fox-lady is giving me fashion advice. I feel honored," he said, sarcastically. "And you? What's with the 'high society lady' look, huh?"

"Oh, you mean the kimono and the hairdo?" she pointed to herself. She was wearing a light blue kimono, with pink and golden flowers and a yellow sash. Her hair was done up in a stylish bun, with her bangs falling over her forehead, of course. "Well, I just thought it was time for a change."

"Hey, have you heard anything from Kenshin and Kaoru lately?"

"Well, I know they're okay. Kaoru sent me a letter a while back, but all she talked about was her son, her son, her son. I take it, she's very happy."

"Yeah, that's what Katsu told me last time. And you? Why are you here?"

"Well, you could say someone asked me to come," she didn't want to mention Hiro, since she knew that they weren't in good terms. "I'm--"

"My wife," she was interrupted by someone. Everybody turned to see who it was.

Hiro was standing there, between two girls, looking intently at Megumi and completely avoiding Sanosuke.

"You married this guy?" Sanosuke asked, disbelief and resentment in his voice.

"Now, Hiro, you know that's not true, I'm not--" Megumi was cut off again.

"Ok, actually we're engaged, but it's technically the same thing. Now come on," he walked over to Megumi, grabbed her arm, and started leading her away from the almost-circle of people who were watching the exchange. "You shouldn't be in these kind of places with this kind of people." None of the usual gamblers said anything about what he said. They all knew the phrase was directed to Sanosuke.

"Hiro, what are you doing? I don't know--"

"We'll talk about this when we get to the hospital," was the last thing they heard from them, as they dissappeared down the street.

Everyone turned to look at Sanosuke. He looked mad, like he was everytime he crossed paths with Hiro. He turned around and promptly left the scene, going in the opposite direction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the meeting part was kinda lame. Do you think so too? Please tell me! R&R!   
  



End file.
